Unsightly
Battlefront: Rider City Raian Getsueikirite stood to his feet, the burning cinders of Rider City flaring up around him as he did. In the air above him was likely one of the men responsible for this catastrophe. "Lord...Akujin...?!" Raian spat through his intense anger. "Surprised? You should be." the man replied, "I am Celeste Agostino of my lord's Impero Nascosto. This world is now the territory of the Third Reich." Raian looked up, glaring at Celeste through the strands of his bangs, "Impero Nascosto? So that's what Akujin calls his army now? You don't look like an Arrancar..." Celeste gave off a look that would suggest he'd just been slapped in the face, "Arrancar? HA!" he blurted out, a cross-shaped pendant now dangling from his right sleeve. Raian looked up in shock, "Then you're....!" Celeste grinned devilishly, "A Quincy!" he roared. Suddenly, reiryoku flared up on Celeste's pendant, forming into the standard Quincy bow. In response, Raian grabbed his Zanpakutō and unconsciously released the blade's Shikai just as the Quincy released his first arrow. Raian batted the first shot away with ease and leaped into the air to fight the man on even ground. "So then, Akujin has some new soldiers it would seem." Raian muttered. "He is not the callous fighter you once knew." Celeste replied. "His army is sufficient to deal with what is to come. Just as I am sufficient to deal with you." "You must be joking." Raian retorted. "Can you not sense the difference between us?" "Your reiatsu is indeed impressive, but that's not what I'm referring to. As Halberd of my lord's Tiro con L'arco, I possess all the necessary skills it would take to defeat a captain of the Gotei 13 - make no mistake." Celeste shot back. "We'll see." Raian spat. "Indeed we shall." Celeste replied, pulling off his glove. " !" Il Trono Dell'Imperatore! : Location: Yāolù Palace Hooded robes, a bespectacled face, and a snake's tail; no one in the palace could mistake the appearance of the Impero's second-in-command, Muramasa Neikan. The throne room in the palace opened, revealing the large lavish throne the Jade Emperor of Yāolù once sat at. Now, Akujin, Emperor of the Impero Nascosto adorned the throne. Muramasa approached the throne and bowed. "Lord Akujin," he said in a snakelike voice , "the Human World is our domain now. However..." "I do not like the use of the term 'however', Muramasa. Is the Human world my territory or is it not?" Akujin spat, cutting Muramasa off. "The Shinigami, Raian Getsueikirite, has entered the Human World. He is engaging Tiro con L'arco's halberd, Celeste Agostino as we speak." Muramasa replied. "Raian is already on the move, eh? I guess my little assassination earlier proved to be too much provocation for our dear captain." Akujin said through a wicked grin. "Contact the rest of Tiro con L'arco. The entire division is to mobilize to the Human world and engage Raian and his remaining friends." "A second campaign in the Human World, sir?" Muramasa questioned. "Yes. It'll delay Raian enough to prepare for our seizure of the Precipice World. I shall have the Regia Marina prepare themselves to leave for the Dangai." Akujin replied. "As you wish, my lord." Muramasa stated and left the presence of the Emperor. Schlacht! : Location: Muramasa's Fortress General Adolfo Benttino sat at a table, in the fortress located in a forest which sat in the Gotei 13's proverbial backyard, sipping his morning coffee when the order came through. He and all of Tiro con L'arco were to invade the World of the Living once more. An unfavorable order, to say the least, but the general knew it was in his best interest to obey. Akujin wasn't the type of man one wanted to be on the bad side of. Standing to his feet, Adolfo donned his general's cap and began to march towards the Senkaimon portal on the second floor of the base. There, rows upon rows of Quincy were line up on either side of the doorway as he entered. He saluted them as he passed, but noticed one man standing out in front of them. His eyes narrowed. Pietro Badoglio, the leader of the Tiro con L'arco sub-division "Maschera Arciere" - a group he despised. For now, though, he needed to suppress that anger to get to the task at hand. "Quincy of the Tiro con L'arco... we move. Vorwärts!" the general declared, followed by a large roar and applause. The Senkaimon opened shortly thereafter and the entire division piled in to the dimensional gate towards the Human World. The Quincy Holy Form "Heilig Spitze!" Celeste shouted, firing hundreds of spiritual energy darts directly in Raian's direction. Raian, in turn, responds with a Getsuga Tenshō, which engulfs the darts and flies forward. Celeste manages to duck, thanks to the enhancements of his Vollständig, though his head is burnt by the energy radiation. "Heilig Spitze? I never read about that in any of the old scrolls about the Quincy." Raian noted. "Its a new technique, created by the Impero for it's Quincy sharpshooter division; Tiro con L'arco." Celeste responded. "I wouldn't expect you to know." Raian remained silent after this exchange and surveyed the damage. He had lost his right sleeve and had several burn marks, but otherwise he was physically in good shape. "Come to think of it," Celeste continued, "You've never fought a Quincy before, have you?" Raian closed his eyes and sighed, "Not entirely true. I fought during the Vandenreich war. I was only a seated officer then, though." "How interesting. So you survived the Vandenreich's holy crusade? How fortunate of me. Lord Akujin has given me the chance to clean up what the Vandenreich failed to." Celeste retorted. "I don't think so..." Raian snarled, "You're going to pay for every life of every friend of mine you took." "You really think you stand a chance against my Vollständig? You're delusional!" Celeste snapped. "This 'Vollständig' of his is quite the annoyance." Raian thought to himself, "Getsuga Tenshō is too risky. He may just absorb its reishi and I can't risk making him stronger. That leaves..." Raian gripped his blade's hilt with both hands and placed it squarely in front of him, grasping it firmly. As he did so, white reiryoku shrouded him and his Zanpakutō. As if realizing what was about to happen, Celeste's eyes bulged and he recoiled. "Bankai!" Raian roared, engulfing himself in a tornado of black light. Schluss A storm was now in full swing in Rider City's ruins. Wind blew violently around the city, and a large dust cyclone circled around where Raian was located. Yet, as quickly as it had come, the storm soon subsided. The smoke cleared, revealing Raian's new form; his Bankai. Celeste clearly looked frustrated, "Bankai, eh? Do you really think Bankai can beat my Vollständig? Blasphemy!" he barked. Black energy erupted form Raian's Zanpakutō, tearing up the street around him with ease and causing a powerful wind to blow yet again. "Getsuga...!" Raian began, much to Celeste's horror, "Tenshō!" An explosion which shook the surrounding area encompassed the sky as Raian's Getsuga Tenshō struck Celeste head on. A column of smoke soon replaced the black energy and Celeste was left floating at the center, his Vollständig broken and falling off. "What....," Celeste began, "What...the... WHAT THE FUCK?! How do you have such massive reiatsu?!" Raian stared into Celeste's eyes, rage blazing in just his mere gaze. "Your Vollständig... Looks like its not all its been cracked up to be." Raian replied, an air of silent rage in his voice. "How dare you, treacherous Shinigami!" Celeste roared. "How dare I? You have the audacity to utter the words 'how dare you'... to me? You destroyed the home I once knew here in this realm. You kill my comrades. And you dare to tell me 'how dare you'?" Raian snarled, "How dare you, you bastard!!!" Raian closed the gap in an instant and slashed Celeste across the chest, dealing him a mortal wound. "Damn.... Shinigami..." Celeste mumbled before falling to the ground in defeat. Raian reverted back to his Shikai state. "We need to reverse the damage to this town." Raian stated. However, before he could do so, a menacing shadow appears as the Senkaimon opens in Rider City... End....